War on Terrorism

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Minh Quang Pham, aka Amin, 33, was sentenced to 40 years in
prison today in the Southern District of New York for terrorism charges based
on Pham’s efforts in support of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a
designated foreign terrorist organization.On Jan. 8, 2016, Pham pleaded guilty to one count of providing material
support to AQAP, one count of conspiring to receive military training from AQAP
and one count of possessing and using a machine gun in furtherance of crimes of
violence.

The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for
National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern
District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the
FBI’s Washington Field Office.

“This sentence holds Minh Quang Pham accountable for his
terrorist activities, including providing material support to al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula and receiving explosives training from Anwar al-Aulaqi in
Yemen for the purpose of committing an attack in the United Kingdom,” said
Assistant Attorney General Carlin.“Counterterrorism is the National Security Division’s highest priority,
and we will continue to bring justice to those who seek to aid designated
foreign terrorist organizations in their efforts to commit violent attacks
against the United States and our allies.”

“Minh Quang Pham committed himself to the violent mission of
al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist organization that has claimed
responsibility for deadly attacks around the world, including the 2015 Charlie
Hebdo attack in Paris,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.“Pham went to Yemen to receive military
training from AQAP and contributed to Inspire magazine, a recruitment tool and
‘how-to’ guide for would-be terrorists around the world.This prosecution and today’s sentencing show
that terrorists and those who support them will continue to be brought to
justice in American courts, thanks to the continuing resolve of the Department
of Justice, this Office and our global law enforcement partners.”

"Minh Pham traveled to Yemen, where he received
military-style training from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including
learning to build explosive devices, with the intent to commit harm against the
United States and our allies," said Assistant Director in Charge
Abbate."Pham also contributed to
terrorist propaganda in order to promote acts of violence and hate across the
globe.This sentence sends a strong
message that the FBI and our law enforcement partners can and will track down
dangerous terrorists anywhere in the world and return them to face justice for
their crimes.”

According to the indictment, extradition materials, court
filings and statements made at related court proceedings, including today’s
sentencing:

In December 2010, after informing others that he planned to
travel to Ireland, Pham traveled from London, where he resided, to Yemen, the
principal base of operations for AQAP.Pham traveled to Yemen in order to join AQAP, to wage jihad on behalf of
AQAP and to martyr himself for AQAP’s cause.After arriving in Yemen, he swore an oath of loyalty to AQAP in the
presence of an AQAP commander.

While in Yemen in 2010 and 2011, Pham provided assistance to
and received training from Anwar al-Aulaqi, a U.S.-born senior leader of
AQAP.Al-Aulaqi advised Pham to return
to the United Kingdom for the purpose of finding and making contact with
individuals who, like Pham, wanted to travel to Yemen to join AQAP.Al-Aulaqi also provided Pham with money, as
well as a telephone number and e-mail address that Pham was to use to contact
al-Aulaqi upon his return to the United Kingdom.In addition, Pham exchanged his laptop
computer with al-Aulaqi, who provided him with a new “clean” laptop to take
with him when he returned to the United Kingdom so that the authorities would
not find anything if they searched his computer.

In or about June 2011, prior to his departure from Yemen,
Pham approached al-Aulaqi about conducting a suicide attack whereby he would
“sacrifice” himself on behalf of AQAP.Al-Aulaqi personally taught Pham how to create a lethal explosive device
using household chemicals and directed Pham to detonate such an explosive
device at the arrivals area of London’s Heathrow International Airport
following Pham’s return to the United Kingdom in 2011.Al-Aulaqi instructed Pham to carry an
explosive in a concealed backpack and target the area where flights arrived
from the United States or Israel.

During his time in Yemen, Pham also assisted with the
preparation and dissemination of AQAP’s propaganda magazine, Inspire.Pham worked directly with now-deceased U.S.
citizen Samir Khan, who was a prominent member of AQAP responsible for editing
and publishing Inspire.Pham, who has
college degrees in both graphic design and animation, received training in the
various types of software used for Inspire and worked closely with Khan,
contributing to the magazine in numerous ways.Pham used graphic design software to edit videos and photos that would
be used as propaganda in Inspire; recorded television programs that Khan might
find useful to the magazine; and offered his camera to be used for the taking
of numerous photos used for Inspire.Pham also posed in photographs that accompanied Inspire articles and
provided instructions to its followers.Among those were a series of photographs accompanying an article with
instructions on disassembling and cleaning a Kalashnikov assault rifle.In another photograph, accompanying an
article entitled, “Why Did I Choose Al Qaeda,” which was written by al-Aulaqi,
Pham and three other men were shown wielding automatic Kalashnikov assault
rifles.In addition, AQAP trained Pham
in the use of a Kalashnikov assault rifle and provided him such a rifle, which
he used in furtherance of his activities on behalf of AQAP in Yemen.

On July 27, 2011, Pham returned to the United Kingdom.Upon his arrival at London’s Heathrow
International Airport, U.K. authorities detained Pham, searched him and
recovered various materials from him, including various electronic media that contained
computer files forensically identical to those possessed by a cooperating
witness who had previously reported sharing electronic documents with Pham
while they were in Yemen with AQAP.In
addition, Pham was found to be in possession of a live round of .762 caliber
armor-piercing ammunition, which is consistent with ammunition that is used in
a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Pham was arrested in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2012,
and extradited to the United States in February 2015.

In addition to the 40 year prison sentence, U.S. District
Judge Alison J. Nathan of the Southern District of New York also imposed a life
term of supervised release and a $300 special assessment.On Jan. 8, 2016, Judge Nathan issued an order
that Pham be removed from the United States to the United Kingdom upon
completion of his sentence.

Assistant Attorney General Carlin joined U.S. Attorney
Bharara in praising the extraordinary investigative work of the FBI’s
Washington Field Office.They also
expressed their gratitude to the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force for the
critical role it played in the investigation and prosecution.Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S.
Attorney Bharara also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of
International Affairs for their significant assistance, as well as the
Metropolitan Police Service/SO 15 Counter Terrorism Command at New Scotland
Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service for their cooperation in the
investigation and prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Anna M. Skotko, Sean S. Buckley, Shane T. Stansbury and Ian McGinley of the
Southern District of New York, with assistance from Trial Attorney Rebecca
Magnone of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, 43, of Romania, was convicted by a
federal jury today of conspiring to sell large quantities of military-grade
weaponry to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC), a
designated foreign terrorist organization, to be used to kill Americans in
Colombia.Georgescu’s conviction
followed a 10-day trial before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams of the
Southern District of New York.

The conviction was announced by Assistant Attorney General
for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the
Southern District of New York.

“As the jury swiftly found, Virgil Flaviu Georgescu
conspired to kill American officers and provide material support to the FARC,”
said U.S. Attorney Bharara.“In concert
with his co-defendants, Georgescu conspired to obtain and sell to the FARC
military weapons, including anti-aircraft cannons and rocket propelled
grenades, to be used against American personnel and aircraft in Colombia.Having sought to profit from the murder of
U.S. officers abroad, Georgescu has now been convicted in the U.S. by a
unanimous jury.”

According to the allegations in the indictment, other
documents publicly filed in federal court and the evidence introduced at trial:

Between May 2014 and December 2014, Georgescu, a
Romania-based weapons broker, conspired with his co-defendants, a former
Romanian government official and a former member of the Italian Parliament, to
sell an arsenal of weapons, including machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons,
to the FARC, with the understanding that the FARC would use the weapons against
U.S. personnel in Colombia.During a
series of recorded telephone calls and in-person meetings, Georgescu and his
co-conspirators agreed to sell the weapons to three confidential sources (CSs),
who represented that they were acquiring these weapons for the FARC but were,
in fact, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).Georgescu and his co-conspirators agreed to
provide these weapons to the CSs with the specific understanding that the
weapons would be used to kill Americans and, in particular, to shoot down
American helicopters and airplanes.

Georgescu first spoke with a CS in May 2014.Thereafter, Georgescu recruited both of his
co-conspirators to help obtain the weapons for the CSs, with the understanding
that the former Romanian government official would provide weapons expertise
and the former Italian Parliament member would help secure fraudulent end-user
certificates, in order to make the illegal sale of weapons look
legitimate.Georgescu instructed his
co-conspirators and others involved in the deal to use encrypted applications
when communicating about the weapons deal to avoid detection by U.S.
authorities.

Over the course of five consensually-recorded meetings with
the CSs in Romania and Montenegro, Georgescu and his co-conspirators provided
the CSs with catalogues of weapons that included anti-aircraft cannons, rocket
propelled and thermobaric grenades and other high-powered weapons, as well as
military-grade optical equipment.During
these meetings, the CSs explained that the arms would be used to kill Americans
and Georgescu offered his thoughts on what weapons would best suit the FARC’s
needs.

Between September 2014 and December 2014, Georgescu and his
co-conspirators traveled to Romania, Montenegro, Italy, Germany, Albania,
Poland and Bulgaria to advance the weapons deal.During this period, the co-conspirators met
with weapons suppliers, obtained sample fraudulent end-user certificates and
test-fired military-grade rifles.In
December 2014, Georgescu and his co-conspirators secured a signed contract from
a European weapons supplier to provide more than $17 million worth of weapons
to a straw purchaser.On Dec. 15, 2014,
Georgescu met with the CSs, showed them the signed contract and discussed means
of payment and transportation of the weapons to Colombia.

Georgescu was arrested by Montenegrin authorities on the
charges in the indictment on Dec. 15, 2014, and extradited to the United States
on Feb. 25, 2015.

Georgescu was convicted of one count of conspiracy to kill
U.S. officers or employees, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison,
and one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a
designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of
15 years in prison.The maximum
potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided
here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will
be determined by a judge.Georgescu is
scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Abrams on Sept. 16, 2016, at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

Assistant Attorney General Carlin joined U.S. Attorney
Bharara in praising the outstanding investigative efforts of the DEA’s Special
Operations Division, the DEA’s Bucharest Country Office, the DEA’s Rome Country
Office, the Montenegrin National Police and the Romanian Authorities.Assistant Attorney General Carlin and U.S.
Attorney Bharara also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of
International Affairs.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Andrea Surratt and Ilan Graff of the Southern District of New York, with
assistance from Trial Attorney Josh Parecki of the National Security Division’s
Counterterrorism Section.